Many different types of torque measuring devices have been produced for various applications, including devices for testing screw-type closures for bottles and other containers, nuts, bolts, and the like. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,182 for Torque Measuring Apparatus and my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/269,344, filed at Nov. 8, 2005 for Torque Measuring Apparatus, and the references cited therein. U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,182 and my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/269,344 are incorporated herein by reference.
With respect to the bottle capping industry, torque measuring devices are known which are designed to test for the amount of torque required to remove a screw closure. However, there exists a need for a device for testing the amount of torque that is applied to a cap by a capping machine when the cap is screwed onto a bottle or other like container by the capping machine. In particular there exists a need for a device for testing the torque with which a plastic or metal screw cap is applied to a flexible plastic bottle or other container by an automatic container capping machine. As used herein the term “bottle capping machines” means and includes machines for applying plastic or metal screw type caps, e.g., tamper evident caps, to round bottles of the kind that are used to contain carbonated beverages or other liquids, as well as caps for containers of other shapes that are used to hold a liquid or a particulate type commodity such as laundry detergent, soap, oil or other liquid or powder-like chemicals. As used herein the term “bottle” means and includes bottles made of plastic or glass having a body with a generally round cross-sectional configuration and a reduced diameter hollow neck which is closed off by a cap, e.g. carbonated beverage bottles, and also other containers that have a non-round configuration but are adapted to be closed off by a screw type cap, e.g. large mouth bottles used to hold liquid laundry detergent. As used herein, the term “cap” means and includes a screw type closure for a bottle or like container, with the screw type closure being designed to screw over or screw into the mouth of the bottle or other container. Of particular relevance to use of the present invention are screw caps with tamper-evident bands. Common containers with mouths that are internally threaded are exemplified by the 1 gallon capacity blow-molded large mouth plastic containers with integral handles that are used to hold liquid detergents or other laundry liquids. By way of example but not limitation, plastic and metal screw-type tamper-evident caps for beverage bottles are illustrated and described in the following U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,565, issued Apr. 21, 1987 to T. E. Westbrook et al; U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,280, issued May 18, 2004 to Felipe L. Zapata., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,565,295, issued Jan. 21, 1986 to F. Mori et al. Wide mouth containers are exemplified by the ones shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,471,909, issued Oct. 29, 2001 to T. M. Czesak, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,841,117, issued Jan. 11, 2005 to M. L. Smith et al. Large blow molded containers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,097,060, issued Aug. 29, 2006 to M. E. Penny et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,076, issued Jun. 4, 2002 to E. J. Giblin et al. Containers with screw-in caps are disclosed by Giblin et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,398,076, cited supra, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,421, issued Jun. 9, 1987 to T. L. Reiber et al. Further by way of example but not limitation, capping machines are illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,565 to Westbrook at al., cited supra, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,759, issued Dec. 24, 1985 to James F. Herbert, and the prior art cited in those patents.